EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — A little more than an hour after their Christmas eve practice ended, most of the New York Giants had already left the locker room or were about to head out, leaving for some last-minute shopping or to get home to family and friends.

In the Giants weight room, Eli Manning sat on a mat and started stretching. There was more work to be done for the Giants’ (8-6) crucial game with the Carolina Panthers (6-8) on Sunday in their run for a wild-card playoff berth.

That’s Manning. Not only has he emerged as the leader of the Giants, he is doing it while quietly having a career season.

Manning has thrown a career-best 26 touchdowns through 14 games and he is 179 yards shy of setting a new personal best for yards passing, breaking his mark of 3,762 set in 2005.

‘‘It’s not one person,’’ Manning said. ‘‘When one guy plays well, it’s because everybody else is doing their job. Receivers are getting open, offensive line is blocking, we’re running the ball better so we are not in a whole lot of third-and-long situations. Defense is getting us the ball. So I think it is just a combination of everybody.’’

Manning’s play the past two weeks in games against Philadelphia and Washington has been outstanding. The 28-year-old in his sixth season has completed 46 of 64 for 659 yards with six touchdowns and no interceptions.

‘‘I think he has been playing great football,’’ offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said Thursday. ‘‘I wouldn’t say the last two weeks either. He has been playing great for the last six or seven weeks.’’

The only exception that Gilbride pointed out was the Giants’ game at Denver on Thanksgiving, when the offense did very little.

Gilbride said the Giants rely on Manning more than most teams do on their quarterbacks, and he can’t be judged solely on his throws and accuracy.

‘‘We ask so much of that position in our system,’’ Gilbride said. ‘‘He has to set up the running game, and the run game has been getting steadily better. He has to set up the protections, which obviously helps him. He gives us the chance to have the success that we have had. We are very pleased with the way he is performing.’’

Not only is Manning making plays, he is spreading the ball to his receivers. In New York’s 45-12 win over Washington on Monday night, the former Super Bowl MVP hit 10 different receivers.

The most remarkable play might have been the opening play from scrimmage. Manning took the snap, saw a rush coming and threw a play-action pass to tight end Bear Pascoe for 9 yards.

While it doesn’t seem impressive, consider this: The first pass in the Giants’ biggest game of the season went to a rookie playing in only his second NFL game.

‘‘It was part of the progression,’’ coach Tom Coughlin said. ‘‘The way it turned out, it was really the one that was right on him because the defense was right in his face.’’

Teammates say Manning is seeing the field exceptionally well. He has thrown only 11 interceptions, which is one more than he had last season in leading the Giants to the NFC East title and the best regular-season record in the conference.

In becoming the Giants’ first quarterback to throw for 3,000-plus yards and 20-plus touchdowns for five straight seasons, Manning has accomplished the feat with a basically a new group of receivers.

Former Giants star Plaxico Burress is in prison serving a two-year sentence on a weapons charge and Giants all-time leading receiver Amani Toomer was not re-signed.

That left receiver Steve Smith and tight end Kevin Boss as Manning’s go-to guys backed up by a group of role players and youngsters, led by second-year pro Mario Manningham and rookie Hakeem Nicks.

General manager Jerry Reese told Manning before the season to step up and lift the young receivers and Manning has filled the role to perfection.

‘‘We have talked about that since after the draft,’’ Coughlin said. ‘‘He knew full well what the objective was. I don’t think anybody had to really tell him. He just took it over from the spring. He started with the receivers with the individual stuff, with looking at tape together, talking about coverages, what the expectations are. He has been doing that for quite a while with these guys.’’

The work Manning has put in with the receivers shows in their statistics.

Smith has 90 receptions, a franchise record and tops in the NFC, for 1,093 yards and six touchdowns. Nicks, the 29th pick in the draft, has 40 catches for 751 yards and six touchdowns and Manningham has 51 receptions for 735 yards and five scores.

Nicks has been impressed with Manning’s poise.

‘‘He pretty much sets the tempo and pretty much gets it going, if it’s a quick motivational speech in the huddle or whether he is calling the play,’’ Nicks said. ‘‘He just gets the job done.’’

‘‘He is playing the best I have seen him play for a while,’’ added Boss, who has 37 catches and five touchdowns. ‘‘It’s great to be part of it.’’